Roerdink Ramblings

I love teaching English, except when I don't.

2012-01-22T19:19:00.006-05:00

I never planned to be an English teacher. When I started my degree I was planning on science or phys. ed. Then the Georgia's state DOE changed the structure of things and PE was no longer an option so my advisor looked at my transcript and said I already had enough course work for a social studies concentration.

O.k. Social studies it is! But I still planned on teaching science.

After searching searching searching all summer, I was hired to teach social studies at LMS in 2002. But the thing was that every teacher on each team also split a subject because of numbers. At this time, English and reading were separate subjects.

The summer after my first year when the principal called me to ask if I wanted to teach science I panicked. I was SO looking forward to getting into that second year groove where I had already taught the subject so that I would actually be GOOD at it instead of having to learn it right before I was teaching it. So he also offered me reading. That was the subject my team had been splitting. Since I had taught it, I jumped on that one!

The funny thing was, when I went to take the English/Language Arts Praxis, I scored higher on that test than I did on either of the ones I actually STUDIED in college. I LOVE reading, so all this stuff just came naturally to me.

The third year in, our school put English and reading back together in a course that they called Language Arts. So I was again learning some things before teaching them. (I didn't use to know what a pronoun was. And prepositions? Forget about it!! Don't worry. I'm an expert on that now!)

Move forward a couple of years and our county decides we need to really hit the writing hard in middle school. So I'm learning all this stuff again.

Like reading, I have really enjoyed TEACHING the kids to write. Narrative (telling a story) is especially fun since I really enjoy seeing the creative things my kids can come up with. I was surprised just how much I have enjoyed teaching expository (informational) writing. It is way more straight forward that narrative. Persuasive? Eh. 6th graders don't really know how to come up with convincing arguments, so I can take or leave that one.

But what I could REALLY do without? The part that makes me want to poke my eyes out? Grading. I sit here before 88 expository essays and a stack of grading rubrics and I need to get busy! Which is probably why I am blogging. Grading and passing back papers are my least favorite part of teaching, but I especially loathe grading the writing. . .

Hiding God's Word in His Heart

2012-01-16T19:22:00.000-05:00

That's another thing Jude has been up to these days. So far he has:

Psalm 4:8

Genesis 1:1

Matthew 19:14

Psalm 23:1

and we're working on John 3:16. The video cuts off there because Jeff's iPod wouldn't send the whole thing and because he couldn't really say the whole thing, but rather announced that he had to go potty;-)

Necessity is the mother of invention

2012-01-16T17:44:00.006-05:00

And Jude felt it necessary to have a cup holder and a footrest while watching Sonic the Hedgehog. That's a friend's PRINCESS lawn chair. Oh, and of course a fire engine for a footrest.

*** UPDATED about 15 minutes later ***

Well, it looks like he felt the need to upgrade to a REAL step-stool!

Turning a corner. (Maybe?)

2012-01-15T18:22:00.002-05:00

It seems that I may have turned that proverbial corner where my health is concerned.

As much as I hate taking medication, I am guardedly thinking this new one may have solved the problem. It has been 25 days since my last ruptured cyst. Before that it happened every 6 days for a month, every two weeks for two months prior to that. Before that it had been once a month since June.

On the migraine front, since doubling my magnesium intake, I've only had 4 migraines in the last 50 days. Which is waaaaaaaaaay down from the 6-8 a month I've been getting for the last two years. (And then like the 15 years prior to going on those awful awful meds that screwed up my brain so much I STILL think I haven't gotten all my memory back. Went off those to get pregnant in '07 and only then did I realize what an idiot I was for taking them.)

I also doubled my B12 intake as well because I got strep TWICE in December. (in addition to that upper respiratory thing that I had for 6 weeks in October and November.) I worked two consecutive 5 day weeks for probably the first time all school year. Had a little sniffles this week, but after three days of drinking a shot of cider vinegar every 4 hours interspersed with a chamomile & peppermint blend 2-3 times a day and some fire cider mixed with honey when I woke up and went to bed, I think I kicked that without incident.

I realize that in the scheme of things, the illnesses and discomforts I have been dealing with since June (and the last 20 years with the migraines) are small stuff. There are people who have dealt with far worse than I. Pain is just such an isolating thing for me. My mind always has me convinced that people aren't going to believe me or will just think I am being overly dramatic. And I don't really know how to ask for/accept help when I'm not feeling well.

But all that to say, I really do feel like things are on the up now. Hoping anyway!

Blocked

2011-12-23T05:42:00.004-05:00

I guess you could say I've had some writers block since my last post. It's really hard to come up with something after a post like that. Still missing my friend.

I suppose I could mention the cysts that have been rupturing about every 1-2 weeks since early October, or the fact that I do not think I've spent more than one consecutive week without either an upper respiratory infection, laryngitis, or a case of strep throat since fall break. (Thinking I may actually be experiencing strep again right at this moment which is why I am awake rather than sleeping at this awful hour of the morning.)

But still, these things seem so trivial.

Grieving

2011-10-20T19:36:00.003-04:00

My sweet friend Christina went to the arms of her Savior on Wednesday night. She was only 3 years older than me with the most precious 5 daughters. Her youngest is the same age as Jude and her oldest is one of Jude's most favorite baby sitters. There are so many things I could say about this dear lady, but I am going to leave it to her husband, Christian. This is the message he sent out today:

To all who haven't heard, Christina Jones Hooker, my beautiful wife and perfect mother of my precious girls, very unexpectedly went to be with Jesus last night, after a hard 24 hour struggle.

These are hard words to say. First, thank you so much for those who prayed so fervently for her life. The preciousness of her life was greatly reflected in your outpouring of concern and grief.

We do...n't know why, but Christina suffered a severe heart attack Tuesday evening. There was no warning. One moment she was a happy, active young mother, and the next she was undergoing CPR for 15 minutes on the ER at Erlanger hospital. The doctors DID revive her, and fought to save her 24 heroic hours.

She lost that battle. She is so very much needed and missed, and though we do not blame her or God, an awesome person leaves an awesome gap in the lives of those they are closest to. Christina's friends and loved ones, please grieve with me and her children. We are facing something we can only heal with the love of God almighty and you, those who loved her. We are making arrangements at Wilson's funeral home in LaFayette, GA, and I will post om her account as more information becomes available.

Listen to me. Hold close what you have. Your wives, husbands, and children. Every fantasy I had that what is precious to me is too good to be taken was destroyed last night. There are NO guarantees. Every moment we have here is a gift. Live that while you can.

Gotta get caught up

2011-10-10T14:46:00.004-04:00

Have you ever gotten to that place of needing to do a load of laundry where you pull out a bathing suit bottom to serve as underwear?

No?

Oh. Uh, me neither.

They're out of control. . .

2011-10-08T20:12:00.003-04:00

These companies are out of control.

Last week I received an e-mail from Gerber, "Your Pregnancy: Week 37." (Ha! If only I had ever made it to week 37!)

Friday I got one from Simlac, "Your Pregnancy: Week 34." (Now that one I did make. Passed even, delivering at 35.5 weeks. But that was 3 years and a week ago.)

Today I received a box in the mail. You guessed it: formula samples.

I am SO far from being pregnant it's not even funny. About 6 months after the boy was born, I developed a hormonal imbalance. We verified it with a salivary profile test. Then this past June (ironically, the month we had set to consider trying again) I started experiencing excruciating pain several days running every couple of weeks and it turned out to be rupturing cysts. Since July, I've been on the pill to keep the cysts away.

These companies are out of control.

I have a fake internet friend who I have TONS of respect for. She struggles with a severe and confusing case of endometriosis that has rendered her infertile. She has dealt with two very expensive and unsuccessful IVF cycles. She has also in the past few months received similar e-mails and even larger formula sample packages than I.

These companies are out of control. For me, the samples and e-mails are just mildly annoying. For her, they are extremely painful reminders of those embryos that didn't stick. These companies need to pay attention what they are doing.

Three

2011-10-03T21:18:00.004-04:00

Three is officially big boy. This week he decided he would use the potty for EVERYTHING as long as he's awake and that he wanted to move from the toddler bed to the "super big boy bed." (The old full from our guest room that we moved out when we got the king and put our queen into the guest room.)

This is three:

And 2. . .
And one and none. . .

What we do when no one is watching

2011-09-30T22:10:00.003-04:00

I may or may not have licked a CD today in order to clean it while I was driving because it was skipping. It may or may not have done the trick, so I may or may not regret the decision. And I may or may not have been happy to get to listen to my CD uninterrupted.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

2011-09-19T20:07:00.002-04:00

Well, just because:-)

English. . .

2011-09-17T14:46:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I wanted to write a sentence that contained the word "led." Something to the effect of "This led me to believe" or something like that.

I blame it on being the Friday following the first FULL week I've worked in over three years because I just kept staring and staring at that word thinking it didn't look right.

I tried "lead" but that obviously was the present tense of the word I was trying to say, as in, "Where you lead, I will follow." So I figured I had the right spelling of the word I was trying to write.

Suddenly, I was left trying to think of the spelling for the stuff in your pencil. "Lead" right?

What the heck. See! This is why my students struggle with this language!

What might be overheard at bathtime. . .

2011-09-11T20:45:00.005-04:00

Boy: Wanna see my penis?

Mommy: No thank you. We do not show other people our penises. Sit back down in the water, please.

Boy: Oh. Ok.
*Sits back down and plays with trains.*

That would be this boy:

So penis obsession starts this early, huh? Welcome to the world of raising boys, I guess. . .

Oh, and overheard from another room in the house would be this boy's dad laughing at the conversation.

(P.S. I can only imagine what this is going to do to the search queries on my dashboard.)

A Swift Answer!

2011-09-10T12:56:00.002-04:00

I was already up at 5:30am because of one of those migraines I get about once a year that won't respond to the meds and makes me want to be sick. When I opened my computer at 6:30, immediately a message popped up on Facebook from my BFF. "Are you there?" Something's not right, I immediately thought. There's no reason she would be hitting me up on Facebook in the 6am hour if everything was fine. (She later told me that she had the same thought when her mother called her a little earlier.)

I replied that I was. "My dad is missing." was her response. I was stunned. All I could muster was, "What??? When did this happen? What can I do?" He hadn't returned home from work last night and since there isn't a time clock for his job, there was no time frame for how long he had been unaccounted for.

Immediately I began an e-mail/text message blitz asking people to stop and pray now. I called Jeff at work. I called Linda who is overseas at a wedding. I called our prayer chain manager AND sent him an e-mail. I wanted Jenn to know that we were lifting her dad and her family up and surrounding them in prayer.

This family has not had an easy time of things in the decade and a half since Jenn and I were roomies back in college. Her middle brother was killed in a horrific car accident. Her mother has suffered with multiple health setbacks. Her younger brother was hospitalized with meningitis when our babies were 6 and 7 months old. Her grandmother is currently recovering from a stroke.

I must admit that as I began to pray, I was kind of throwing my hands in the air asking God what else they were going to have to go through.

It was around 10am and I was laying in the guest room trying not to throw up when Jude came in to tell me my phone was ringing. It way Jenn! This must mean news!

And news it was. Her dad had been found. He works in the forestry department and had fallen in a well in a neighboring county. I have no idea how they found him except to say it was the hand of God. The way they close up old wells leaves much to be desired and they do not keep very good track of them after they are closed.

As we were speaking, a rescue team was working to get him out of the well and then they would be heading to the ER to assess his injuries. We know he has a head injury at the least.

But he is ALIVE! And I am giving praise to God for his swift answer to our prayers!

First Week Down

2011-09-04T19:38:00.002-04:00

I had forgotten how exhausting the first week of school is!!! I'm talking more exhausting than new baby waking every 45 minutes all night exhausting. Especially those first two days after the students went home, I was nearly crawling home at the end of the day. (Super thankful for the friend who brought a tall barstool by the house today! Tuesday should be a LOT better!)

I couldn't be more pleased with my class make up. I've got one gifted class of 20 and one advanced class of 26. This is the type of student I am accustomed to working with. These are the types of classes I taught 4 of my 6 years in the classroom before Jude was born.

Then I have a new challenge as well. Two of my classes are what is known as inclusion classes. In each of these classes I have 14 average level kids and 4 kids who are higher functioning special ed, as well as a co-teacher who is certified in teaching to the specific needs of special education students. I am super excited about the possibilities for these two classes. With only 18 kids in the room and 2 adults at their disposal, I think we can reach these kids in a way that a traditional special ed class can not. My goal is to see all 82 of my little darlings (and any of the new ones that I know will come in since our population around here is pretty transient) meet or exceed on their state test. But more importantly, I want them to catch a vision this year for their full potential.

Like me, some of these kids may be the first in their family to ever even consider college, let alone graduate from college. Whatever it takes, I want to do to get them to understand that no matter where they're coming from, they have what it takes to achieve the high goals they set for themselves.

Little Sister

2011-08-06T09:18:00.003-04:00

This girl! Thirteen years ago last month, I stood by watching her birth. Maybe the turning point in my life that would pave the way for my obsession on the topic now. But man! I can't believe she's 13 now!

This girl amazes me constantly. She's got bigger feet than me. She's almost taller than me. (Just wait till next summer!) She's a talented twiler and a budding tuba player.

In 4 days time, we'll bring her back home to Florida to get ready for her last year in middle school. Then the next time we pick her up to stay the summer in Georgia, she'll be gearing up to enter high school. I was only out of high school about 7 months when I found out she was coming and just over a year when she actually arrived.

But it's going so fast! And she's growing into an amazing young woman.

Not slacking for the sake of slacking!

2011-08-01T17:23:00.002-04:00

This poor blog has gotten lost in what has been a furor of studying!

At the end of last school year, I was asked to come back into the classroom full time. This wasn't the first time I was asked, but it WAS the first time I didn't say "no" right away. I said, "I won't say 'no' until I've prayed about it." (Why did this never occur to me before?!) And then that day, Jeff came home with news of a 4% salary cut in his department. (We've made less and less from them every year since Jude was born due to different cuts.) Right then, I figured that God was providing an immediate response to those prayers.

As I was leaving the classroom, a new intervention process was rolling out for kids who struggle academically. I never had to bother learning about it since I was leaving. So now I am working on consuming as much information on the topic of the RTI (Response to Intervention) process.

Exactly one month from today, my first class in three years will walk in the door for the first day of school. I am going back into almost the same position I left. The only exception is, in addition to gifted and high regular classes, I will have one class that has RTI and special ed. inclusion students. This is sort of uncharted territory for me. (Thus all the studying!) I've had kids who needed remediation, and I spent the last year working half time providing targeted interventions for children like this one on one and in small groups.

I'm a little anxious about the idea of a whole classroom full of them, though. Because let's face it. My county doesn't get it that when you try to do these things, even with co-inclusion teachers in the same classroom together, you can't fill those classes to maximum legal capacity. I am confident I can make this successful with a class that is appropriately sized. Maybe 18 - 20 kids max. But all the RTI/inclusion classes I worked with last year had 24+

So we'll see how it goes. In the mean time, I have GOT to stop neglecting my blog!

It stuck with him

2011-05-28T19:47:00.003-04:00

Wednesday night, Jude's second night in a big boy bed, he showed up in my room at 3am. I was like, "ok, here we go." and I brought him back to his room to nurse him and try to get him back to sleep. The room really stunk and all I could think was that he had a dirty diaper and since he could now get up and tell me, that's what was going on. But when I took his diaper off, it was just wet.

After he nursed, he begged to go in his crib. Shoot! We were failing at the big boy bed. I put him in there and grabbed the pillow off the toddler bed. It was soaking wet. At this point I turned the light on and saw where the smell was coming from. He had thrown up. But since the one and only other time he threw up he was only one, maybe one and a half, he didn't have a word for it and probably had no idea what was going on when it was happening.

When I got everything cleaned up with new sheets and a new pillow, he willingly went back to his "bo-boy bed" as he calls it. Well, maybe because in the mean time, he also threw up in the crib, so he made the connection that the bed had nothing to do with it?

Last night, Friday, we were reading Curious George books at bed time when he looked at me and said, "Judah cry." Of course I asked him, "Why did Judah cry?"

His response puzzled me: "Judah make mess." Well, we had just cleaned up, so I had no idea what he was talking about. "Where did Judah make a mess?" I asked.

"Judah spill. Judah spill mouth." (Well, actually he said "Judah pill mouff." but we'll not get into pronunciation now!)

Spill mouth? Ooooooooh! He was telling me about the night he threw up. Poor baby! If he was still talking about it three nights later, it really must have made an impression on him. He's destined to be like his mother, I'm afraid. I have a mortal fear of throwing up. And all the puking I did during pregnancy did nothing to "cure" that fear!

I am officially a blog slacker

2011-05-25T13:08:00.004-04:00

Working half time has definitely eaten into my motivation to blog when I can just zing something up on Facebook in a second or two that I usually don't have to proof read! But this calls for a blog post:-)

I lost my camera for about a month (really, I didn't lose it. It was in my doula bag, but I just forgot it was there!) And for about the month before that, I didn't know where my USB cable was. So I hadn't posted photos of Jude in some time. When I finally got my act together, some of my Facebook friends mentioned how they couldn't believe the change Jude had made from baby to little boy in such a short period of time. And to be honest, neither can I!

There are just so many things. We had planned not to try potty training until after he turned three because I've heard so many parents of boys harping on how boys are ready later, no sense trying until three, yada yada. But he started showing interest on his own when he was less than two and a half two years, three months, and seven days to be precise). These days, at two years 7 months, and three weeks, he is completely day trained. He still wears a diaper to nap and to bed, and he always waits until he has that thing on to poop. Can't wait until he gets that down!

He sat for a hair cut last week without completely freaking out. I know the hair dresser being completely entertaining and also letting him wear these didn't hurt either:

Last night he slept the night through in a toddler bed without begging to go back into his crib.

But today was the real kicker. We went to the fountain to play in the water and another little boy came along about Jude's size, but obviously an older three year old. (My kid is the same size or taller than a lot of three year olds we know.) And instead of shying away from the other kid, Jude engaged in play with him. They splashed each other, sat by each other in the jets, and played more games of chase than I can count. I wish that I had gotten a photo of them together, but I didn't even think of it until the other boy had left. So this is all I got:
What can I say? My boy is growing up faster than I'm ready for, but on the other hand, this will make it easier as I contemplate going back into the classroom full time next year.

2011-03-07T23:29:00.002-05:00

My child. What can I say? He loves to laugh. He loves to make people laugh. He loves to make himself laugh. So when I was trying to get him to sing his ABC (which to him apparently means A-B-C-H-Thomas. . .) why would this be any different.

If you watch the video, you'll notice the exact moment where he figures out where the little camera is built in to the computer and the effect that it has on the screen when he moves closer to it. Personally, I think he just likes looking at himself;-)

Haven't done this in a while! My Husband Rocks!!!!

2011-02-15T23:17:00.002-05:00

I haven't done a MHR post in over a year. Not because he doesn't rock, but just because my desire to write just hasn't been that high in the past year.

Nevertheless, my husband ROCKS! Yesterday. Valentine's Day. Traditional a day that's never been that big of a deal since my birthday comes two days later. But yesterday. . .

I left for work before either Jeff or Jude had woken up for the day and was about half way through a lesson with the group of kids I meet with for reading intervention, when in walks my little man with a rose. Followed closely by his daddy, of course. They hung around for a while, until I was done working with my group, so then we got to have a nice visit and Jude drew me a picture.

Then I came home to find a clean kitchen AND all the carpets vacuumed. Additionally, Jeff washed and folded almost all the dirty laundry.

I'll say it again, my husband rocks:-)

2011-01-20T00:13:00.004-05:00

I have been singing this song to Jude at bedtime some nights for a while now, but it's only been the last few nights that he has seemed to take notice.

I'll get to the part "when I fall down You pick me up. When I am dry You fill my cup." and even though he is nursing, I can hear him smile. (If you've ever been a nursing mother, you know what I mean by hear!) then I get to the end and he stops what he's doing: "gin, mommy?" And every time with out fail, on the second go around, when I sing the part "fill my cup" he stops and repeats, "fill cup."

I love the legacy songs like this will speak into his life over the years and especially that he's picking up on them so early.

Undies

2011-01-10T11:01:00.005-05:00

How do you celebrate your two year old making it to the potty to go peepee? Well, by letting him wear Thomas the Tank Engine undies, of course!

Although that was short lived and since it was bed time, he was back in a diaper after about 30 minutes. And we haven't gone on the potty, since. But hey. Small victories:-)

Ponies and Somersaults

2010-12-31T03:00:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned before that the folks that lived her before us left behind a whole bunch of stuff?Their movers really sucked, so they fired them midmove and just did the rest themselves. They asked if we minded them leaving some things and we were fine with that because we figured we'd just get rid of what we didn't want. (We really weren't anticipating them leaving that dog, though!)

We actually gained several pieces of furniture and kid's item this way. (Also some car ramps and about 15 gas cans?!?!) One of the great kid's items was one of those horses that is just the head on a stick which we recently rediscovered in the back of Jude's closet. He spent the better part of today running around with it calling it a camel. But once Jeff put new batteries in the thing, he figured it out.

Those somersaults are our most recent achievement. Last night he just started doing them in the hallway after bath time. I truly think they would be grand if he would figure out how to keep his hands on the floor as he goes. But who know? Maybe I have a future gymnast on my hands?

He gets it!

2010-12-25T11:29:00.005-05:00

Dream no more, Bing. Your white Christmas has become a reality. Well, at least for those of us here in Northwest Georgia. . . Jude and I both experienced our first white Christmas together this morning. And as opposed to any of the snows we had last winter, Jude really seemed to know what to do with it this year!

He also seemed to understand some things about Christmas this year. When I told him we were going to go to grandma and grandpas and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, his face just light right up. Last night, at Christmas Eve service, he sat relatively attentive while Travis gave the children's sermon about persecuted Christians in Arab nations who were not able to safely celebrate Christmas like we could. And when he gave the little gift bags to the children, Jude came running back to me with his, excitedly exclaiming, "Tra-bis! Tra-bis!" He was so proud of that little gift from Travis.

Here is our day so far:

Thomas shirt from Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa

Thomas bath toys from Mommy and Daddy

Thomas books from Mommy and Daddy

Do you notice a trend yet?

And then there was. . .

Checking out the snow

Eating the snow. . .

Jude Is All Boy!

2010-12-01T22:40:00.003-05:00

My child can spend HOURS going down the same slide, climbing back up and going down again. This realization sent me scurrying to Craigslist to find a Little Tikes plastic slide for our house --so that I can get things done around here while he's occupied with that thing! Can't get house work done if I spend 2 hours at the park;-)

We went and picked up our $30 find tonight and I really thought Jude might just decide to forego bedtime because we put it (temporarily) in the living room until we can scout out a flat spot in the yard in the daylight.

Not only was he completely enthralled by the new slide, but also by the fact that he could see exactly what I was filming, since I used the iCam on my work MacBook. This video is a bit longer than I usually take (because my other camera will only film 3 minutes worth) but your patience will be rewarded at the end when Jude counts to 10. (With help!)

Psychology according to Winnie the Pooh & Friends

2010-11-28T14:48:00.002-05:00

I borrowed this from a fellow Bradley teacher who posted on our teacher message boards today. She said:

"My son (who's studying animation) showed these "psychological profiles" (animations) that he found on a forum to me tonight. I happen to be a Winnie the Pooh fan, so I'm sure there are some others here that will get a laugh out of these too."

Enjoy. . .

Thank you, LeapFrog!

2010-11-25T14:35:00.003-05:00

Sometime before Jude was even old enough to know what TV even was, we got this LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD free in the mail. (I'm really good at finding freebies like that. I think I may have only actually paid for 2 of the DVDs he owns!) It came in handy for our road trips to Florida to pick Vickie up and bring her home back in July and August, since Jude doesn't have any sit in him. But until maybe 3 weeks ago, that was the last time I played it for him.

Then the whole Comcast debacle happened where our service went down one Saturday morning and they said they couldn't come to fix it until the following Tuesday (it was a holiday weekend) so out it came again. And out of nowhere, one day last week I realized he was singing the letter sounds. I totally blame it on this video because I certainly didn't teach him that yet.

So, with no further ado, I give you Jude and his letter sounds! (Yeah, I know it doesn't really mean anything to him at this age. But it is sure fun to watch!)

Thanks!

2010-11-10T22:10:00.006-05:00

I have to say, I am thankful for ALL of the military veterans who have selflessly given of themselves to serve our country. But, I am especially thankful to these three today.

My dad

My sister

My father-in-law - no military picture:-( All I could come up with was this one that I nicked off of some fishing web site!

It couldn't have been an easy decision for them to choose to be away from their families for such a long time; to know that they could be called upon to sacrifice more than just their time if duty called. But each one made that choice.

So, who are the Veterans you're thankful for today? Have you told them?

Through the years

2010-10-03T22:36:00.004-04:00

October 3, 2008 and October 3, 2009

October 3, 2010

Jude spent his second birthday surrounded by love from family and friends from near and far. He played many hours on the play ground, ate lots of cookout food, but none of his own birthday cake, and didn't want to open any more presents once he opened the fire trucks from Mrs. Maggie and Libby Kate;-)

As exhausting as parting hosting is for me (I am soooo not an extrovert!) watching my little man have so much fun makes it all worth it!

Food

2010-09-25T12:55:00.001-04:00

Jude really enjoys "wice" these days:-)

Now I Know My ABCs. . .

2010-09-04T18:30:00.005-04:00

Jude identified his first letter early in July (late in June?) and we don't really know where he learned it from. He just pointed at an O on Grandpa Phil's shirt and kept saying, "Oh! Oooooh! oooOOOooh!"

So we decided to capitalize on that and start working on a few more. My grandmother didn't know this when she gave Jude a set of foam letters for the bath in mid-July. He took to those things right away. He would carry them from person to person asking them to tell him what letter he had. My grandfather was the most favored letter holder/reciter. What can I say? The kid definitely has a preference for men (except Mommy, of course!).

By the middle of August, when we returned to Florida to bring Aunt Vickie home, he knew all but maybe 5 or 6 of the letters. Now days, he can usually say all of them except V. In the videos below he blanked on H, too. No worries, though. He has plenty of time to get that down before he actually has to start learning what they mean.

This is broken up in two parts: A-L and M-Z. Mainly because Jude got distracted halfway through and wanted to play with the camera;-) If you're only going to watch one of the clips, it should definitely be the second one, because in that one he says W and that's the best! (bub-oh-woo!)

Yes, he definitely still calls the letter C "cookie" and yes, he is doing part of the little dance he does when we play the Cookie Monster song. So, even though we tell him repeatedly that it is C, it is probably our own fault that he still calls it "cookie."

So, please excuse a shameless brag from a proud mama. I really didn't expect him to learn his letters before he was 2. Maybe that's the normal age for that, but it was a surprise to me:-)

I KNOW!

2010-08-25T00:17:00.000-04:00

I have GOT to update my blog! With the little sister visiting and summer travel and coming home to start my tutoring gig right away, I haven't had a moment to organize any thoughts.

But, the weekend is coming:-)

If I Ran the Zoo

2010-08-01T15:58:00.008-04:00

Big shout out to Dr. Seuss for lending me the title of my post today.

Have I mentioned that I love our little zoo here in Chattanooga. Let me tell you why I love it so much. It cost $55 for a family membership! And, since they are part of the Reciprocal Zoo program, we have a huge list of other zoos across the country where we can use our membership card to get in for free or at a discounted rate.

Well, Lowery Park Zoo in Tampa is one of the ones that we get into for free. Do you know that it is $19.95 per adult to get into that place?! So for Jeff, Vickie, and me it would have cost us over $60 with tax figured in to spend a day there. That's more than we paid for our Chattanooga membership and we can go as often as we like:-)

The manatees have always been my favorite thing at Lowery Park. It just makes it feel so much like Florida to have manatees in the zoo. They are actually an official manatee "hospital." The take care of injured ones. I have no idea if it's a rehab where they release them again later, or if they just keep them on indefinitely.

By far, this was the oddest thing we saw at the zoo that day. Living in Georgia these past 13 years, I have seen an abundance of skunks; more than I have ever wanted to see in my life and I just can not imagine what makes them zoo-worthy!

Some of the other sightings that day:

A camel

The giraffes

The elephants

The zebras

The Flamingos

The monkeys, er, I mean, my son. . .

It's time for another Jude post

2010-07-29T00:40:00.004-04:00

The boy has learned how to turn my camera on. This is not too much of a problem, so long as he doesn't start deleting pictures. He has really enjoyed taking pictures of himself. Is it a sick obsession that he seems to enjoy having the flash in his eyes? I have about 50 pictures on my camera like this:

(Jude: Self Portrait)

And here's what happens when the flash is covered by his thumb, but the red eye light still comes on:

(Jude: Wowza! That was some hot salsa!)

And this is how Jude tells you that he wants nothing to do with the llama at the zoo:

This is what it looks like when Jude steals mommy's iPod when she is trying to get ready to go for a run:

And when he's pretending to go "nigh-nigh:"

When he's practicing being Daddy's boss (the front says "Fire Chief"):

And finally, enjoying some good ol' bath time:

It's Really Working!!!

2010-07-08T19:31:00.002-04:00

I am officially sold on natural (yam based) progesterone cream and drinking red clover infusions to correct my hormone imbalance. I am starting to feel better, but what's more, in the last month and a half since I started with all of this, I have dropped 8 pounds!!! Yee-ha!!!

Not to mention that my energy is picking up. I am now managing to run 4 miles and walk one four days a week. And my time on those miles is improving. When I started running this past spring, I think it was taking me about 20 minutes to get through a mile. Yesterday I hit 11 minutes for the first mile. It slows down after that, but even my slowest of the 4 miles was not over 13 minutes.

So, I used to be a bit of a skeptic when it came to herbal remedies, but I think I'm hooked now.

Of all the weirdness I could come up with?!?!

2010-07-02T11:26:00.003-04:00

I was going through my photo files, kind of cleaning house and I came across this pic of me from January 2008. I was lying on the couch at our old house, working on school work. Apparently, this was a signal to the pets that mama wanted some luvin' because I promise, this was not staged. They just made themselves at home:

Now days, pets are not allowed on the furniture. Actually, we got rid of el gato, because she could not (would not?) be trained to obey this rule. But, I usually find my self in similar situations:

That's o.k. This one, we'll keep:-)

2010-07-01T13:00:00.002-04:00

I'm adding a new button to my sidebar. OneGirl is another bloggy friend of mine who is going into her senior year in high school. Earlier in the year, she began having some issues with her health where she was randomly passing out and just a couple of days ago she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She will be having surgery really soon. Please keep her in your prayers. Her faith is strong, and she is totally relying on God's grace to carry her through. And the mom in me wants you to pray for her mom, too. I can not imagine walking through this with Jude. Pray for God to give her mom that strength that is beyond human understanding.

La, la luh la, la, lah, laaaaaa

2010-06-23T09:43:00.002-04:00

Future in opera?

I have no idea what was going on when this photo was taken, but I know I was looking for it for "Faces of Jude" and couldn't find it. So, it gets it's own post;-)

Mutant Veggie

2010-06-21T15:05:00.002-04:00

I've been all over my garden harvesting zucchini and cucumbers, and pulling weeds, and watering, and adding fertilizer every couple of weeks. But, well, let's just say, I missed one.

Mmm, hmm. See this guy? Two pounds!

And here he is next to one of his plantmates of normal size. This other fellow is an average half pound zucchini.

Oops!

All Done

2010-06-19T11:13:00.003-04:00

It's pretty common knowledge that Jude has his own way of doing things. So why should baby signing be any different? He got the first sign down just the way it was taught to him. That was the sign for "milk" which we use to mean nurse.

"All done" on the other hand, well that's a different story:

Can I do It? Yes, I Can

2010-06-18T12:34:00.004-04:00

(Well, I guess you can tell what Jude's new favorite show is by my title!)

For about a month now, I have been working on the Couch to 5K program. This is a program that is supposed to help a pretty sedentary person build up to running a 5K over the course of 9 weeks. Before I got pregnant with Jude, accompanied with the flu about the same time, I used to run 5K 3 days a week. But after that came the horrendous morning sickness that kept me down for the better part of 4 months and that was that.

Last year, I attempted to pick up again, but since Jude was little I had to stay close to home so I was running on the pavement at the cemetery across the street from our house. But every time I would get good and going, I would get stress fractures in my foot.

Now that Jude is older, I can drive over to the gravel track which is a mile if you run both loops and is much nicer on my feet.

Since I was a runner previously, I modified the program a little bit. The first week I started out running a minute and walking a minute and a half for the first 3o minutes and walked the remainder of the time until I reached 4 miles. The next week I bumped my running up to a minute and a half and alternated that with the minute and a half walk breaks for 30 minutes, but then before walking the remainder I did a longer running stretch about 30 seconds longer each day. For the third week, I would run two minutes and walk a minute for 30 minutes and walk whatever was left of the 4 miles.

Then there was this week. Week 4. I had a plan in my head to continue the 2 minute run/1 minute walk pattern and then try the long stretch again at the end. The first day, I was interrupted in my run when I bumped into an old friend I used to work out with at The City Club, but hadn't seen in more than two years (because I had to drop my gym membership as part of our plan for me to be a stay at home mom). We talked for over ten minutes so in order to make up for lost time I though, well, maybe I can run a whole mile without any walk breaks. And do you know what? I could! I did!

So the next day I was determined to do that again. I felt really good at the end of that first mile, so I decided to see if I could try for two. And do you know what? I could. I did!

Skip a day (because I can't run when Jeff's at work) to today. At the end of two miles, I kind of felt like crap, but I thought, "I wonder if I could run three miles with no walk breaks. . . ?" And, well, you've probably guessed it. I could. I did! And then walked two miles after that for a total of 5 miles.

So now my new goal is to get the time down on those first three miles and to continue walking the other two. When I get the time down to something more acceptable than 39 minutes, then I think I'll work on running miles 4 and 5.

Oh, yeah! I'm a running machine. Well, not really. But I could be. . .

Um, and that clip art at the top there of the jogger? Yeah, that's totally me. All geeky with my iPod and my crazy hair.

The snack bar is open

2010-06-16T23:58:00.004-04:00

It's no secret that my 20 month old likes, nae, LOVES to nurse. This kid still nurses about 6 times a day. We don't nurse in public any more, mainly because he tries to push my shirt up further like that's going to make the milk come faster. But, he doesn't NEED to nurse in public since I make sure we're home at nap time and bed time and mostly he nurses before and after going to sleep.

BUT, if we're just sitting around at home, or even if we're out and I'm just sitting down, he asks anyway. Mainly I think that's his "bored" response. So when Jeff brought home this comic strip from last Sunday's AJC, I thought that surely the author MUST know Jude:

(you can click here to see it bigger)

Sorry that it won't post bigger. I can't figure that out. But if you look at the pictures, I'll narrate. Basically, she is reading him a story. The last frame, where he had gotten himself under her shirt he says "thwup, thwup, thwup" (that's the nursing sound) and she replies, "here's a great story going on out here and all you're interested in is the snack bar!"

Yep. Totally Jude.

The Faces of Jude

2010-06-14T22:05:00.001-04:00

One day when I was dropping Jude off in the church nursery, one of the workers said something to her daughter in Spanish (because she speaks little English) and her daughter translated it to me: "He cries with much emotion!"

Well, if you know Jude, you know that he does EVERYTHING with much emotion. Even the faces he makes for the camera express a lot of emotion. I do not know where this kid gets these faces from.

I DID IT!!!

2010-06-13T22:18:00.001-04:00

It is no secret that I kill plants. I was even able to kill a cactus eventually. It always starts out good. The cactus, I was able to keep alive for 2 years. I even kept an Africal Violet alive for about 4 years. But eventually, I end up killing them.

So, last year when some friends wanted to go in on a group garden, I was game, as long as someone told me exactly.what.to.do!

The day after we got all the plants in the ground, the hail storm took care of that garden. Big disappointment to drive all that way just to have it knocked down by chunks of ice.

So this year, I purposed in my heart to attempt a garden in my yard. I didn't want to commit to tearing up my lawn if this proved to be another unsuccessful venture, so I bought some plastic kiddie pools.

The plants came up and kept getting bigger! Then one day, I came out to see this:

Oh, yeah! That's a flower baby! (Two to be precise!) And flowers mean fruit! (Or in this case, veggies!) There's the first one:

And again after harvest:

And we've brought in 4 others to date with two more about ready to come off.

The only mishap we've had is that I was sure I planted one container of zucchini and one of yellow squash, but it turns out it's all zucchini.

I've also got some lettuce about ready to come in and some carrots and cucumbers that will be ready in the next several weeks. Still waiting to see what's going to happen with my tomatoes and peppers. . . But it's success enough to make me want to till a spot in the yard for next year!

A little Jude fix!

2010-06-12T21:49:00.005-04:00

I'm trying to get back to better blogging. If I could keep up with my camera cord, I think that could happen.

In the mean time, here's a little something for the relatives to keep them going;-)

He sure does love his fire trucks!

But, he's thinking something is missing. . .

Whew! Now he's got it under control!!!

Well, kind of. . .

And for the first time ever, he has enough hair to wake up with bed head.

What are YOU looking at?!

That's what I call progress!!

2010-05-21T17:27:00.002-04:00

I want to shout from the roof top that All You magazine officially rocks!!! They ran an eating plan in this month's edition that stated if you followed it to a T, you could lose up to 10 pounds in 14 days. So, I jumped on that train because the plan looked relatively healthy.

Pair this up with the 5K I am running/walking 3 times a week and the stability ball work outs I am doing 2-3 times a week, and since I started it on Monday, I have already lost 5 pounds. In.5.days!!!

Three of the meals include a lean protein and a fruit serving. Then the other three meals include a lean protein, a whole grain, and vegetable serving. This totals around 250 a meal and about 1250 calories total for the day, but it's spread out all day, about every 2.5 - 3 hours. Also required is to drink at least 2 liters of water.

Well it's working wonders!

Yipee!!!!!

Repetition is Key

2010-05-12T11:00:00.004-04:00

Isn't it amazing how little ones will find the same thing hilarious over.and.over again?

For about ten minutes Jude would just go to pieces every time Jeff rolled the truck down the side of the tub. So here we have about three minutes of that silliness. That "oh, do, te" that you keep hearing Jude repeat is how he counts to three. He does this when we're holding his hand and he wants us to swing him, and apparently when he wants Jeff to roll the car;-)

Holy Day-From-Hell, Batman!

2010-05-06T21:38:00.002-04:00

O.k. So maybe "day from hell" is a vast exaggeration. But what a day it was!

It all started with Jude waking up at 6:45, a whole hour early, while my alarm was set for 7:30 to give me time to get showered and ready for work before he woke for the day. Not a major tragedy. It just meant that I had to shower with the door open since Jeff was at work, and that for most of my shower, I had an audience consisting of one two and a half foot spectator who kept chirping, "Hi, mama!" over and over.

The baby sitter arrived on time and Jude loves Miss Sophia, so there was no problem getting out the door. All went well with the student. When I returned home, I walked in to find Jude crying from having fallen off his fire truck, but still, no big deal because this happens often. Mostly he only cries if a person reacts to his falling, and since Sophia is only 12, I am sure that she reacted.

We played at the playground and came home for lunch. Only minor meltdowns, because he was probably blazing tired by lunch time due to being up an extra hour.

The real trouble started when I put him down for his nap and was shortly thereafter hit with a huge migraine. So I had to take the medicine. I hate that stuff. It kicks out the headache, but it makes me drag like you wouldn't believe. And it makes my skin feel weird.

On days that I have class at night and Jeff is working, I usually feed Jude dinner at 4:45 because I have to drive him to the (other) babysitter. He usually wakes from his nap between 3:30 - 4:00. Well, not today. 4:00 came and went. So did 4:15, 4:30, 4:45. About this time, I began to realize I should pack my stuff for class into the Jeep. And this is when I realized that Jeff had my books, my church key, and the diaper bag in the van. No problem. The students just wouldn't be able to borrow any books tonight, I would have to go in to the church through the other building, and I would throw stuff for Jude into a shopping bag.

4:50, Jude FINALLY wakes up, so I decide it's a Subway night. Get in the Jeep and realize it needs gas. Thankfully, Subway is in Walmart! Slowest service ever at Subway. Plus, I'm dragging and sweaty from the Imitrex. Get a gas card and zip over to the gas station only to realize I don't know how to open the gas door (I've never fueled up the Jeep). Call Jeff, and he tells me how to get in.

Get to the babysitter's house, to find only the dad is home because the babysitter forgot we were coming. No problem. They're friends of ours and Jude was glad to stay with the dad. I actually had an easier time leaving him with the dad than the daughter. Jude really digs hanging out with guys.

But by this time it is 5:55 and my class starts at 6:00. So I am about 5 minutes late to class. My students were all very understanding. We had a pretty decent class. So it looks like it will be a pretty uneventful night to a hectic day. I get Jude from the babysitter with only a mild temper tantrum (solved by a tambourine that I had in the car!) because he would rather sit in the driver's seat than his car seat, get in and turn the key and the stupid (26 year old) Jeep won't start:-( Why not. Fortunately, I am a genius, so I popped it in neutral to get it off the hill and once it was on flat ground, it started.

And now, as I type this at 9:45, Jude is lying in his bed singing. Since I found out I don't need to go to work in the morning, I am really hoping that this hectic day will convince my son to sleep in, because we both need it tomorrow:-)

He's not very cooperative

2010-04-28T14:22:00.004-04:00

In other words, he's a typical almost two year old.

Jude has really been impressing with his new identification skills lately. (Usually) when prompted he points to his nose, which he still calls "beep beep." Oops. He can say "ear" (e-ah) and tug on it. He says "eye" and pokes himself in one eye, will pull on his hair when asked where his head is, and poke at his belly button when you ask, "where's your belly." You have to ask him "where's your stinky feet?" to get him to show you his foot, but he will show you his toes if you ask. And he can show you MY elbow, but he hasn't yet come to the realization that he has one of his own. Well, two of his own, really.

So yesterday morning (and several times through out the day) I tried to get him to preform these great feats while I took video. Um, nope. He wanted no part of that. During one of the video sessions, he zerbert-ed my stomach. (Remember that from The Cosby Show?) In another he grabbed the upload cord from my camera and was enthralled. During another he commenced to pulling every book he owns off of the book shelf.

At least I got a "hello" out of this one:

Ah, life with a two year old. Please excuse the tornado that took place behind him.

20 days:-(

2010-04-26T19:34:00.004-04:00

***EDIT*** Thanks to Scott at This Daddy's Blog for taking note of Jeff's story from Sunday morning in your REAL MAN/ Bad Ass Dad segment. He told me it it's really nice to hear words of appreciation about him doing his job. Jude and I definitely know what a great husband/dad we have in Jeff!
**********************************************

Yikes. I did not mean to not blog for 20 days. I had a lovely visit from my grandparents and my sister over Easter weekend and then things got busy from there.

Oddly, working didn't have much to do with it because the kiddo I work with in the mornings had mono and was out all last week. I feel bad for the kid, but it was kind of a blessing for me with all I had going on.

I probably could have blogged a couple of days this past week, but when I get stressed, I tend to not be able to think too clearly to write. Then Wednesday my grandfather was put in the hospital. This is the man who has been the backbone of our family my whole life. I knew he was going to recover, but every time I would get a picture of him in my mind sedated, restrained, and intubated, it would send me into a mild panic attack.

The good news is that they have been weaning him off of the sedatives so he is coming back into consciousness. And the surgeon was able to cauterize and stop the bleeding in his stomach. I don't know when he gets to go home from the hospital, but I know it will be a long recovery.

Saturday I could have blogged about the crazy storms we had that made me have to stay up until 3am because tornadoes had been spotted in our area. At one point during the tornado watch, the hail hitting the house was so loud that I did go in and get Jude and bring him into the hall. Poor guy was so tired, he didn't really budge through it, unless Daisy made noise. She does not get restless during storms, but she was a little antsy.

Fortunately, everything passed us fine. There were a lot of homes in the city without power and a town about 15 minutes down the road did have a tornado touch down and take out 16 acres of trees. Thankful to God that it was only trees!

And Sunday morning, Jeff's company was fighting an apartment fire and he had been sick for several hours the previous morning, so he ended up in the hospital for about 3 hours with dehydration. After a couple of units of IV fluid though he was up and at em again enough to drive himself home.

Add all these things to the Tennessee Birth Coalition that I am helping to start up and it has been one crazy April. Somewhere I believe I have some pictures to blog about, but no one knows where the upload cord is, so it might be a while;-)

There's just no getting around it. . .

2010-04-06T17:24:00.002-04:00

This child WILL grow up to be a car guy:

The Bunny

2010-04-04T23:05:00.001-04:00

Maybe it's just me, but I find something inherently freaky about a giant plush bunny wearing a huge bib. Especially when you can see human arms sticking out.

SAFETY ALERT!

2010-03-30T20:30:00.001-04:00

I am reposting this from a blog I read called Cop Mama:

Ok, I'm not trying to freak you out, but you need to go to:

Spokeo (dot) com

RIGHT NOW, enter your name and see if your personal info is listed.
If so, scroll down to the bottom and click on "privacy" to request to remove it.

It is a clearinghouse of info and may include:

A MAP OF YOUR HOUSE

YOUR BIRTHDATE

YOUR CHILDREN'S NAMES

YOUR SPOUSE'S NAME
YOUR INCOME AMOUNT
THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME

And other personal information you may not feel comfortable letting the whole world know about you!

Update: The website is really slow loading right now because the entire law enforcement community is on there trying to get their personal info off. Try again later if you can't get on now.

Where'd it go?

2010-03-30T02:15:00.002-04:00

Time, that is! I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last blogged. I was contacted by my former school and asked to do some part time work helping to bring a couple of new students up to speed. These two hours a day have turned out to be the two most exhausting hours of my day because of the difficult circumstances. The children are in State custody due to some really bad stuff and have never been in school a day in their lives. One of the boys is really smart, and we've moved him on to regular classes on a part time basis, but the other. Oh, the other. . .

He's a very nice boy. He just happens to not know his alphabet past the letter C, unless he's looking right at it. 12 years old and can't spell his own last name. Doesn't know what the letter Y is. Just learned how to multiply single digits, because I taught him how.

There's no way I would be able to continue this assignment out through the end of the school year if it weren't Jude's nap time after I get home. It gives me 2-3 hours to recoup and get re-energized enough to enjoy the rest of the day.

Speaking in Mr. Judah, we dealt with our first real stomach virus on Saturday night. His last diaper change before bed indicated that there might be a problem, then when he woke at 1 am wanting to nurse, I thought he was scared because the power was flickering in the crazy wind. But when he woke half an hour after I put him back to bed, and would not nurse, but just sat there with me, I knew we had a problem. That's when the throwing up began. In about an hour he threw up four times. And then he gave us one of those diaper problems that required a trip straight to the bath tub.

Poor guy. We dealt with this until just around 3am. He was so pale and just lay there with me, not moving, not wanting even water. I have never asked him if he wanted to nurse and had him tell me "no" before. I knew things were calming down around three because he sat up and kept babbling something, which I somehow figured out meant he wanted his water bottle. Then he lay there chewing on the spout and drinking every so often. He only takes the water bottle when he's falling asleep at night. So I decided to ask him if he was ready to go to bed. I wasn't expecting him to actually nod his head at this suggestion.

After sleeping in until almost 10am on Sunday, he woke up obviously on the mend, as his usual, busy self. Except for his light appetite, you'd never have known he was sick.

Next week is the kiddos' spring break, so I should be able to get something up that actually has pictures to it. Until then. . .

Forks and Spoons

2010-03-16T17:51:00.004-04:00

We've take a big step in the last few weeks. Graduating to silverware! Well, sort of. . .

Last week we tried some spaghetti. See where the spoon is?

But, overall, not a bad experience.

We've also done ravioli with a little bit of success. Jude actually eats better with a fork than with a spoon most times.

But don't ask me what inspired me to attempt this solo today. I served ravioli and black olives because those are the boy's favorite. All was going well. He was using the fork. That is, until the olives. Jude asked for more olives, and in the 10 seconds it took me to go to the refrigerator and get them, this is what I came back to:

10 freaking seconds! I'd hate to see what I would have come back to if I had actually taken the time to cut the olives in the kitchen instead of bringing them to the table first. . .

New Moms at Risk - ABC News

2010-03-13T11:08:00.001-05:00

I have really been impressed with the quality of ABC's reporting lately in relation to child birth. I am thinking they must have one well educated, natural birther on staff because their reporting seems to really be coming from a place of wisdom and not just sensationalism.

I knew things were really getting bad in the U.S. due to the rising popularity among OBs to use too many interventions unnecessarily, but I had no idea that our maternal death rate had TRIPLED over the last decade. To me, that is just unacceptable. So tell me how a 31% Cesarean section rate is saving lives again? Tell me why VBAC is more dangerous that routine, repeat, scheduled c-sections? Tell me why we have such a high national induction rate other than waiting for the baby to truly be ready to come into the world in it own time?

Anyway, here's the report. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.
New Moms at Risk - ABC News

What Firemen Do When No One Is Watching

2010-03-12T19:36:00.002-05:00

First, Jeff wants me to point out that most fire stations no longer have poles. Maybe this is why?

He had other plans

2010-03-01T20:10:00.004-05:00

I was trying to get some pictures to go along with a post I am working on about cloth diapers, but as you can see here, Jude had other things on his mind. Please excuse the pile of things I am gathering to consign in the corner of his room.

Cloth diapering post to follow, if I can get the pictures.

5 loaves and two fishes?

2010-02-22T22:07:00.003-05:00

O.k. Not really. But I did feed 25+ people yesterday with only $15 worth of ingredients. And, since it was a soup, it could have been a meal in itself, although there were other contributions to the meal, both times the soup was served yesterday.

The first group we served the soup to was our missions committee. There were 16 of us because we have the committee members bring their entire family for lunch after church once a month. I guess since Jude really doesn't eat that much, we shouldn't count him, but he ate some soup, so I will.

Then we brought the leftovers to small group where at least another 9-10 people served themselves the soup.

And what is this miraculous soup, you ask? (Or, maybe you don't? Oh, well. I'm tellin' anyway.)
Why, chicken, corn, black bean soup, of course! Once upon a time, I got the recipe somewhere and have tweaked it over time to get it how I like it.

Here's the run down. You can cut the recipe down to suit your needs.
(all cans listed refer to 15oz cans)
8 cans of black beans (rinsed/drained)
4 cans of chicken broth
1 jar (20oz?) of your favorite salsa (I use the Walmart brand Black bean & corn salsa, but the garlic and lime is really good, too)

Mix all in a stock pot, then use an immersion blender to puree it all up. (If you don't have an immersion blender, I guess you could use a regular one, but that's going to be a little more hassle.)

In the mean time, I had browned 2-3 pounds of chicken chunks. Toss that into the mix, as well as 3-4 cans more of black beans (rinsed/drained) and a bag (16 oz) or two of frozen corn. Simmer for a while (until the corn is at the level of tenderness you desire) and voila! It's soup.

Serve with sour cream or grated cheddar cheese. Or, plain if you want. If you like a thicker soup, you can cut back on the chicken broth.

I find this to be a perfect (and quick!) meal for these cold winter days. Now, I think I am going to hit some of the left overs from last night:-)

505 days

2010-02-20T22:11:00.001-05:00

Dear son, today you have been on this Earth for 505 days. What in the world are you up to these days?

Well, about 32 inches and 27 pounds. BIG boy:-)

You LOVE pretzel rods and getting your picture taken. . . and tearing through your toy box like a tornado:

To see you from the front, you look pretty bald. Our little Charlie Brown. But then you turn around and display the most precious wispy curls. Might you be doomed with your mother's genes for hair? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

You're a clown. We have Daddy to thank for that. And while your lips may be sealed tight here, that is certainly an unusual thing. You're usually going a mile a minute with the 27 real words you know in addition to whatever that foreign babble is that you use. Though you're hiding them here, you've got 12 chompers in that mouth! 6 molars, 4 front top, and 2 front bottom. We don't stick our fingers in your mouth anymore;-)

Would it be too much to ask that you not poke your finger into my camera lens? I am really tired of cleaning it! At least you are cute when you're being inquisitive.

We just want you to know that these last 505 days have been some of the most fun days of our lives. Thank you for the joy and light that you have added to those days!

And another one gone, and another one gone. . .

2010-02-19T10:21:00.004-05:00

Another pound bites the dust! For the record, that is 15 pounds in just over 3 months. Yahoo!

On a side note, I got a good recommendation for a hair dresser in town who turned out to be FAN-freaking-TASTIC! Pics to come later once my hair is dry. I had to wait a day to see if I loved the cut, because I had to make sure I could fix it myself, being the non-professional that I am;-)

Update: Before & After

Awarderd!

2010-02-17T20:06:00.004-05:00

This sweet new (to me) blogger that I "met" recently has given me a Beautiful Blogger award. Her name is Chrissy and you should check out her blog: Traveling Light.

I am always amazed when anyone who is not family actually enjoys reading my babbling. Sort of justifies the years I spent learning to write relatively well in order to teach writing skills to my 6th graders. Don't look for much in that department, though. The entire time I taught English, my motto always was, " I only have to be able to write a little bit better than the students!"

So now I am to follow the rules of the award. So the rules for this award are:

1. Link to the person who gave you the award.
2. Pass the award along to fantastic blogs you've recently discovered.
3. Contact the blogs via a comment to let them know you've giving them the award.
4. State seven things about yourself.

The blogs I want to pass this award on to are:
My Mother Is A Fish simply because she is my dear friend and I always gain from reading her blog.
Single, Infertile, Female: Now What? because I really appreciate the honesty in her posts. She doesn't try to act like she has it all together and a lot of her stuff makes me laugh my head off!
My Crazy 4 because she is as crazy outspoken about public breast feeding as I am!
Larger Family Life because I think she is doing a terrific job with her large family even while dealing with problems with her oldest! And again, the honesty there is inspiring.

O.k. So here are the seven things about it. (This is kind of like one of those chain letters, huh?!)
1. I get terrible migraines. Right now I have my second one this week, but thought it was really nice of my body to give me a break for my birthday yesterday! I recently started seeing the chiropractor, so I hope it helps.

2. I am terrified of getting hair cuts. If you had my crazy curls, you would be, too!

3. Since I have been teaching childbirth classes, I have been feeling the pull to become a DONA certified doula, but the uncertain schedule is currently the deterrent.

4. I'll take completely unmedicated childbirth any day of the week over being stung by a wasp. They terrify me and I can remember every last detail of all four times I have been stung!

5. I tend to get myself over involved in things, and have a hard time saying no even when I am too busy.

6. I am extremely unorganized.

7. When I was a teenager, my room was SO messy that I had to make pathways to get from the door to the bed, the bed to the dresser!

Nope. No Different.

2010-02-16T21:26:00.003-05:00

No, 31 does not feel a bit different than 30. Except when my dad asked me if I felt any different today than I did yesterday, I was able to respond with an emphatic "yes!" because yesterday I had my worst migraine in almost 5 years. Enough to send me to the chiropractor today. But thankfully, today for my birthday, I got a migraine free day.

31 years ago today, I was born at home. Er, I mean, at my parents' landlords' home. My mom didn't know she was in labor and did not have a phone so she went over there. I can not imagine what they thought. I would love for her to write a guest post telling that story one day. Had my first (only) ambulance ride when I was only minutes old.

19.5 years later, I watched this inspirational woman give birth to my little sister. Her first birth attended by an actual OB (because the nurse "caught" my other sis, the one who is almost 14 months younger than me, while the doc was washing his hands. . .) and the first birth my father made it in time for.

We drop 'em fast in this family. Watching Vickie's birth that day made me sure I could do that and 10 years later, that one day is part of what made me sure I could trust my body and the process that God set up for birth enough to have a home birth.

And all of this began coming into works before I even made my arrival into this world. 31 years ago, on a couch in Mulrennan, FL. Who would have thought.

Oh, and what a happy birthday it was. The most difficult decision that I had to make all day was if I wanted to get my free birthday meal at Mojo Burrito or Provino's and if I wanted to have a free birthday Cold Stone Creamery creation or a free birthday Blizzard. (Mmmmm. Midnight Truffle Blizzard. Guess what I chose.) And we were the only stupid ones sitting in Dairy Queen eating ice cream in 28 degree weather. My 16 month old son, being the smartest one of the three of us today, took one bite of the ice cream and clammed up, refusing another bite. Well, at least one of us had a brain. I, on the other hand, had midnight truffle;-)

Curly Girl, Revisited. . .

2010-02-14T17:23:00.001-05:00

Here's a post for my Curly Girls. (Or anyone who cares!) We're nearing the 8 week mark here of no shampoo. I have discovered that it is really hard to get a picture of your own hair, and that even when you get someone else to take the pic, it's hard to show that even after (nearly) 8 weeks of not shampooing, my hair is not greasy!

Can you tell?

Close up:

I do think, however, that these pictures show that I need a hair cut. I just wanted to wait a while and see if the experiment worked. I think I'll be treating myself to a hair cut next week. My first since May of 2008.

Lest anyone think, "Eeeew! You're not washing your hair?" No, that's not what I said. The Curly Girl philosophy is just not to use shampoo to do so. We simply use conditioner to massage the scalp, rinse and condition as usual. Except with a LOT more conditioner than I was using. (3tbsp!) Then once a week, instead of the plain old "conditioner wash" I mix in some brown sugar and do the "brown sugar scrub."

That part seemed weirder than the no shampoo thing. I didn't do it for the first month because I couldn't get past the idea of putting sugar of any kind into my hair. When I finally broke down and gave it a try, I couldn't believe how awesome it was.

I'm sold! It's Curly Girl for me from now on:-)

Woah! Snow!

2010-02-12T16:48:00.007-05:00

Exactly two weeks ago, I thought it was amazing that in two days we had received the same amount of snow that we usually get in a whole year here. Today, I am even more amazed because we've probably doubled that. So, we bundled up the boy and took him out, and there he stood, frozen like a statue, certain that he couldn't move unless someone provided him with some assistance. (Putting him in hard bottom shoes for the first time probably did NOT help with that!)

This is just to give a general idea how deep the snow is:

Frozen to the porch. Not going anywhere mom!

Daddy is building Jude a (little) snowman:-)

He likes it.

REALLY likes it!

Covered in snow!

Hanging out with Daddy.

Little foot prints:-)

And a little video. Nothing exciting happens, but I am sure that the grandparents will find it interesting!

And a bonus video for your enjoyment! Jude helping Daddy move his highchair back into the dining room. (Pardon our mess!) Maybe we won't win any parent of the year awards, but we found that the best way to distract him from his growing molars long enough to eat something is to put him in front of some cartoons!

2010-02-04T09:10:00.009-05:00

Due to this newly acquired skill, Jude will be wearing pants indefinitely or until he stops trying to go commando.

Kind of looks like he's giving himself a wedgie!

Wait for it. . . .

Notice how daddy just sits on and watches. . .

O.k. So mommy is just as guilty because she was just standing by taking pictures.

Our couches will never be the same again!

BTW, that's a Baltic amber teething necklace he is wearing. Don't bother bother buying one. I don't think it did a thing.

Did you use baby signing?

2010-01-27T11:52:00.002-05:00

I posted this over at BlogFrog in one of the communities I am a part of, but I know I can get some great insights here, too.

I am wondering if I am doing this right. I am SO FREAKING TIRED of my 15 (nearly 16) month old pulling on my shirt when he wants to nurse, so I am attempting some baby sign language with him. We're starting with the sign for milk.

So, what I have been doing for the past several days is when he pulls on my shirt, I tell him, "Say: 'I want to nurse' " and I do the sign. Then I pick him up and begin nursing him and repeat that while doing the sign.

Well, this morning he did the sign AFTER he had begun nursing.

Am I reinforcing this wrong?

Rock on!

2010-01-21T14:25:00.001-05:00

O.k. When I saw this over at Dou-la-la, I just couldn't resist! This has got to be the most awesome fountain in existence. I can definitely say this: been there, done that!

With no further ado, I give you "Abundance" from the Piazza Maggiore, in Italy.

He Gets Around!

2010-01-11T08:52:00.002-05:00

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday, on Saturday, and quite a bit late!

2010-01-09T10:48:00.004-05:00

So, my husband DOES still rock even though life has been so crazy since the end of September that I haven't sat down to think about WHY he rocks. Jude was sick, then his 1st birthday, out of town family visiting, a 14 hour car trip north to meet Daddy's extended family, the loss of my great grandmother and another 11 hour car trip north for the funeral, Holidays, illness, illness, and did I mention illness?

But as I was preparing to shower this morning, I was reminded of another reason why Jeff rocks. They say that the average person loses 200 hairs a day. Well, if that the average person, I must loose upward of 500. It's awful! My hair is everywhere! It totally wraps around the vacuum brush, toes, socks, the tub drain. . . Where ever you don't want to find my hair, you will.

And it is not like I intentionally rinse my hair down the tub drain. I promise that I collect as much as I can in my fingers as I "wash" and condition my hair. ("Wash" because I no longer use shampoo in my hair. See Curly Girl for an explanation. My hair has never looked better than it does now!) But it never fails that about every two or three months the tub starts to drain slow and we bring up big wads of hair.

But it dawned on me that I haven't noticed a slow drain in at least half a year. Telling me that my sweet husband has just accepted this fate and has just been quietly de-clogging the drain on a regular basis. Have you ever seen a hair clog? They are so freaking gross. My husband rocks for doing my dirty work;-)

Don't forget to visit Katy Lin at The Great Adventure if you want to sing the praises of why YOUR husband rocks!

Sharing Is Caring

2010-01-07T00:39:00.001-05:00

One of Jude's latest discoveries is sharing. Not that I think he will hold onto this virtue when he's a little older and it comes to sharing toys with other kids, but right now he LOVES giving his food away to other people. Often times he will ask for a cracker and turn right around and give it to Daisy-dog. We're working on breaking him of that. He really loves trying to feed his cracker (or raisins, or whatever) to mommy or daddy.

My Big Boy

2010-01-03T09:11:00.005-05:00

Until I became a parent, I never realized that a small triangle of construction paper could elicit such strong emotions from a person. That person, of course, would be me.

We've been going to a Moms2Moms (like MOPS) group since Jude was 6 months old and for the last meeting, Jude went to the "toddler room" nursery. This is the kid that doesn't even look back to say goodbye when I drop him off at any nursery.

I guess the first thing that got my blood pumping was when I went to pick him up and he was the first in the front of a whole pack of kids waiting at the baby gate for their mommies. I almost didn't recognize him because he just looked so grown up standing there!

Then as I was putting his jacket on, the girl in charge handed me this:

and so much pride began flowing through me that I truly felt like I might burst. What?!! A little piece of construction paper with yard sale stickers and a clothes pin? Really? Yep. My baby had composed his first creation and it was definitely one of the highlights of parenting thus far.

I look forward to many other, odd, small joys over the next several years, but I don't think anything can top how I felt in that moment when the nursery worker handed me Jude's Christmas tree:-)

Please excuse the greasy finger print. I let him hold it while we were having lunch!

Not too shabby. . .

2010-01-02T06:45:00.000-05:00

Well, it wasn't the same great results as last month (8 pounds) but for the month of December I am down 4 more pounds. I blame the holidays. . . and my extreme lack of will power when it comes to cookies and cake;-)

2010-01-01T11:04:00.001-05:00

It is amazing to see what a difference 12 months can make. From my little butterball to my little man!

Hope everyone had a Happy New Year's Eve and blessings in this new year!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2009-12-23T17:43:00.003-05:00

The video says it all. . .

I know it's been a while since I've posted Jude pics. I promise that more are coming soon!

Baby Mamas (Put a Sling On 'Em)

2009-12-08T18:53:00.001-05:00

I like this version of this song WAAAAAY better than the original:-)

The Santa Problem

2009-12-02T11:42:00.003-05:00

I thought this gentleman did an excellent job of dealing with the Santa problem:
Raising Modern Day Josephs
I don't see any problem with having harmless fun, but I do see a problem in lying to your kids when they flat out ask.

A Whole Lot to Be Thankful For!

2009-11-26T08:37:00.005-05:00

First and foremost, these two guys:

These guys, too:

Let's not forget these guys:

And this guy:

Also, all of these guys:

And so, so, so many more that I don't even have pictures of.

Dr. Dobson's Newsletter: November 2009‏

2009-11-25T08:25:00.002-05:00

I am going to repost Dr. James Dobson's latest newsletter here today because after reading it, I wonder how many other people are as blissfully unaware as I was about the goings on in our Nation's capital. I hate to say it, because I was really praying that things would begin looking up for our country, but the more I read of this newsletter, the more I began to see a lot of likeness to Huxley's Brave New World. At the time we were assinged that book in high school, I wondered what relevance it could ever have to my life. Now I see.

Anyway, enough from me. Here's Dr. Dobson's news letter:

Dear Friends:

I'm sure many of you are aware of the assault on the sanctity of human life that is taking place in our nation's capitol. It involves outrageous attempts by President Obama and liberals in Congress to force the American people to pay for abortions with our tax dollars. This very well may occur under the guise of health care, despite the fact that in a recent Gallup survey, 51 percent of our citizens called themselves "pro-life," the highest number in 15 years.¹ More to the point, 67 percent say they do not favor tax-payer funded abortions being included in the proposed health care reform.² Their views don't seem to matter. Our politicians appear ready to cram their "culture of death" down our throats.

If direct funding for abortion becomes the law of the land, it will mean countless more babies will be killed and human life itself will be further cheapened. History shows that anything Washington pays for is almost certain to increase in frequency. All that is necessary to verify that fact is to "follow the money."

You may also have heard that the President said in his speech to a Joint Session of Congress on Sept. 9 that "no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions."³ We suspected at the time that Mr. Obama's assurance to the American people was not valid and indeed, that suspicion has now been confirmed. Almost all of the health care proposals put forward so far include public funding for abortion. On multiple occasions, pro-life members in the House and Senate have tried to strip those provisions from bills being considered, but they were voted down by pro-abortion legislators in every instance. As currently proposed, the bills most likely to pass do cover abortions and will mandate federal subsidies to pay for them.

Also in that speech to Congress, the President promised there would be a "conscience clause" that would protect medical personnel from being forced to perform abortions.⁴ It was another sham. The proposals in Congress do not contain sufficient conscience protections for health care professionals.

That brings us to the second assault on the sanctity of human life by our government. As of this writing, the health care proposals having the most congressional support call for as much as $500 billion to be struck from the Medicare budget.⁵ That's half-a-trillion dollars that will not be available to treat the elderly. It will inevitably result in a rationing of medical care and consequently, many of our senior citizens will be allowed to die. Newsweek addressed this likelihood in its cover story of Sept. 21 entitled, "The Case for Killing Granny: Curbing Excessive End-of-Life Care Is Good for America."⁶ What this means is, if it becomes law as written, many of the sick and old will be denied desperately needed care. Furthermore, Medicare is rapidly going bankrupt with no solution in sight! What kind of country will this be if the weak, infirm and helpless receive no compassion from those in positions of power? And as seniors depart from this life, what responsibility will we bear if we have remained silent in response to their misery?

Jesus said in Matthew 25: 40-45 (KJV),

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee and hungered, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

I shudder to think of the divine judgment that could befall us if we allow our politicians, to begin forcing the American people to pay for the killing of babies while they are turning their backs on the elderly! God forgive us for this wickedness.

Sadly, this radical shift away from scriptural principles is occurring in government at all levels. Here's another disturbing development by our leaders. In Washington and elsewhere, personnel is policy. The President enjoys tremendous latitude and power in making appointments to high-level positions within his administration. Many of them, called "czars," are radicals who have quietly assumed power beyond the gaze of the general public. Lately, however, a dozen or more of them have made headlines because of their extreme views.

For example, President Obama has appointed Kevin Jennings as the head of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. He has been called the "Safe Schools Czar."⁷ What hypocrisy! Jennings is the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the largest advocacy group in the nation dedicated entirely to the promotion of homosexuality to students as young as kindergarten age. He has written five books advocating homosexual teaching in the schools and elsewhere, as well as the foreword to a widely publicized book titled Queering Elementary Education.⁸

Under Jennings' leadership, his group, GLSEN, has advanced the view that if "a lesbian attends a house of worship that preaches homosexuality as a sin," she will have encountered "community oppression."⁹ In his book titled One Teacher in Ten, Jennings also tells the story of counseling a 15-year-old boy [he later said the boy was 16] who was having sexual relations with an older man whom he had met in a Boston bus stop restroom. Instead of informing authorities of the incident, which was illegal under Massachusetts law, Jennings advised the boy to use a condom.¹⁰

Our new education/safe-schools czar also once said that the late Harry Hay, a homosexual Communist and advocate of NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association) was his inspiration.¹¹ Hay's vile and wicked support for child abuse was summed up in 1983 when he said, "If the parents and friends of gays are truly friends of gays, they would know from their gay kids that the relationship with an older man is precisely what 13-, 14- and 15-year-old kids need more than anything else in the world."¹²

Here's another quote from the memoir of America's new Safe Schools Czar. He said, "I got stoned more often and went out to the beach at Bellows overlooking Honolulu Harbor and the lights of the city, to drink with my buddies on Friday and Saturday nights, spending hours watching the planes take off and land at the airport, which is actually quite fascinating when you are drunk and stoned."¹³

As this letter was going to print, I learned of yet another appalling discovery relevant to Mr. Jennings. My great friend in Washington, Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, reported that Jennings, just this year, sponsored a pornographic AIDS activist exhibit at Harvard University. "Believe it or not," Tony reports, "the man in charge of protecting our schools has endorsed a celebration of perversion that includes video pornography, religious defamation, photos of genitalia, and stories of child pornography, cross-dressing, and sadomasochism."¹⁴

By his own admission, Kevin Jennings' views do not represent the beliefs of millions of American parents who have entrusted their children's education to our public school system. He said, "Many of the values I hold are alien to my students. I am startled and often surprised at their frequently conservative and rigid remarks regarding sex, recreational drug use, sexuality, and other 'moral' issues."¹⁵ How arrogant and bold he is in contradicting the nation's moral underpinnings!

Does it concern you to know that Jennings works at the White House and has the ear of the most powerful man on earth, despite the fact that he was never vetted or confirmed by the Senate? Unfortunately, he has many "fellow czars" in the Administration who share his leftist agenda. One of them is Van Jones, the "Green Jobs Czar," who was forced to resign for his extreme views and writings, having described himself as a "communist" and a "revolutionary" in 1992.¹⁶

The beat goes on. President Obama recently appointed Chai Feldblum to serve as one of five commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC]. Ms. Feldblum is currently a professor of law [gay studies] at Georgetown University. Among her many liberal perspectives, she publicly supported polygamy!¹⁷

Another radical, Mark Lloyd, has been appointed as the "diversity czar" to the Federal Communications Commission. Last year, he applauded Venezuelan president and dictator Hugo Chavez's media reform, suggesting that he had directed "really an incredible revolution--a democratic revolution." This newly appointed "czar" favors ending freedom of speech on talk radio and imposing ruinous fines on radio stations that do not comply with his policies.¹⁸ If he is successful in censoring talk radio, that could mark the end of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and, yes, perhaps James Dobson.

As if it couldn't get any worse, President Obama's White House communications director, Anita Dunn, once said that Mao Tse-tung was one of her "favorite political philosophers."¹⁹ The late Chinese communist dictator killed untold millions of his own citizens during his 30-year reign.

Ron Bloom, the administration's manufacturing czar, also appears to be a fan of murderer Mao. Last year, as an executive of the United Steelworkers Union, Mr. Bloom spoke to a forum on the union role in bankruptcy and said, "We kind of agree with Mao that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun ..."²⁰

Are you hearing this information for the first time? If so, it is because the mainstream media will not report the "czar story" to the public. They prefer that you remain uninformed and oblivious.

Here's a final development that you should know. President Obama spoke recently at a fund-raising event for the Human Rights Campaign and made numerous promises to a crowd of cheering homosexual activists. In his speech that night was a promise to pass so-called "hate crimes" legislation which has passed both chambers of Congress. He also pledged to work toward the overturn of the Defense of Marriage Act and to end the military policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He also urged Congress to pass a law extending benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. Finally, in an apparent reference to the nearly 50 percent of Americans who still believe homosexuality is morally wrong, the President articulated, "There's still laws to change and there's still hearts to open.''²¹

Those of us who disagree with these radical changes in national policy are treated like enemies of the state. We are subjected to distortions and lies by the liberal elites who are determined to reconstruct this nation once and for all.

Fortunately, social conservatives who support traditional morality and values are not alone. There is a powerful movement developing in this country that will not remain silent. The "tea party" phenomenon, for example, has been led by citizens of all persuasions and faiths, and they are gaining in strength and numbers. I am convinced that a significant percentage of these activists are Christians who feel that the Washington establishment has lost touch with their beliefs and concerns. Ultra-liberal minds in Congress and White House operatives intend to keep them quarantined and marginalized. Please join me in praying that God's people will continue to make their voices heard for the sake of our nation, for the welfare of future generations, and for the propagation of the Gospel.

Although I have shared some disturbing trends in this letter about the direction our culture is moving, there is reason for hope for a return to sanity in our public and private lives. The Lord would not want us to despair. Instead, let's use our voices to support biblical truth at the ballot box and throughout the culture at large. We must defend our children against those, such as Kevin Jennings, who would warp their impressionable minds. We cannot allow ourselves to become like lepers huddled around the fringes of society. We are an integral part of the government whom Abraham Lincoln described as being "of the people, by the people, and for the people." That is us, and may we never forget it.

Finally, we must preserve our own family integrity against all the forces allied against it. A good place to start this month is by celebrating a meaningful Thanksgiving Day around a holiday table, where prayer is led before eating and children are honored and loved. We will be doing that in the Dobson household again this year, and I hope you will join us in that spirit.

May the peace of Jesus be upon you and yours.

Sincerely,

James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
Founder and Chairman Emeritus

Where am I?

2009-11-24T16:56:00.002-05:00

Where am I these days?! You'll notice that my blog is being a little neglected. Hopefully that will change when I am finished with the mountains of reading, outlining, observing, and testing for my Bradley instructor certification is finished next weekend.

If all goes well, by next Monday (not the one following today), I will be a certified natural child birth instructor. In January (need to wait until after the holidays) I'll start with one class a week and see if there are any students out there to be instructed;-) If all goes well, then I might move up to two classes. But one step at a time.

If you're a praying person, I would love prayer over this. I have not taken an exam in over 8 years! It's a little intimidating.

Go with it. . .

2009-11-19T22:06:00.004-05:00

Who needs store bought toys. . .

. . . when you have cereal bowls and ankle socks?

Of course, you can see from the back ground that he is in no short supply of store bought toys. . .

Body after baby

2009-11-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

Can I just say: OH YEAH!!!

Remember that I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to be participating in the Body After Baby challenge? Then I never said another word about it again?

Well, I've been doing the WORK (watching portions, getting more exercise, and thanks to Jude's maturing sleep habits, getting more sleep. Yep. Sleep has something to do with weight loss!), just not the work (logging points for the weekly challenges, doing weekly weigh ins and posting about progress).

And, DrUmRoLl please. . . in one month. . . I have lost. . . 8 POUNDS!!!!!

Go me.

Pretty soon, this will be me!

Well, except I won't be a man;-)

Favorite!

2009-11-16T08:36:00.002-05:00

I was looking through the pics from October and I think this must be the absolute best picture from Jude's birthday party! Let's see. . . What is he thinking here?

The God of Slim Chances

2009-11-11T22:28:00.001-05:00

Ours is the God of everything, even slim chances. I've been praying along with thousands of other people over the past 8 months for baby Stellan. On Monday, I honestly was thinking he was going to fly to Jesus. But ours is the God of slim chances, even when we forget to have faith.

Click here to see the interview with Stellan's parents after the surgery that saved his life.

Biggest fan

2009-11-10T10:48:00.003-05:00

I didn't think he would remember this, but Jude's first concert was a Skillet concert. Of course, he was the size of a peach because I was only in the second trimester of my pregnancy.

It is amazing the things that someone so small, that some people want to say is just a bunch of cells, will remember. The first time we took a long car trip (for our 6 week midwife appointment) Jude started wailing. I was alone with him because Jeff was at work. Out of desperation, I turned on the Comatose CD and he quieted right down.

Well, apparently his favor of this band stuck. I have seen him rock back and forth and shake his head for other songs, but nothing like this:

Eat your heart out John Cooper. I think you have some future competition;-)

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

2009-11-07T20:51:00.000-05:00

Oops! Or Saturday. . .

But, none the less, Jeff still rocks! I wanted to take a picture of all the leaves he will be cleaning up from the yard (from only two trees! Two very, large trees, but still, only two trees!) but it was too dark when we got home tonight. (Grr! Day light savings!)

During this time of year, trying to keep the leaves out of the yard is like trying to hold 100 ping pong balls under water. As soon as you get some of them cleaned up, there are just as many on the ground again. And on the roof. And in the gutters. And in the elderly neighbor's driveway. You get it.

So, in additon to everything Jeff has to keep up with on his off days around here, now we are in leaf season. Fall is kind of a love/hate thing. But my rockin' husband never complains. He just does what needs to be done.

Yeay, Jeff!

Trick or Treat

2009-11-02T15:46:00.000-05:00

I bet that in his head he was saying, "Trick or Treat?"

Oh, be careful little teeth. . .

2009-10-31T21:25:00.000-04:00

See the big boy choppers?

Well, these days these little choppers are hearing the phrase, "NO biting!" a LOT. A WHOLE LOT!

List of things he has bitten:
* Mommy's shirt
* The couch cushion
* The clip on mommy's nursing tank
* Mommy's cell phone
* Mommy's digital camera (and scratched the screen)
* Mommy
* Daddy

Thankfully he has NOT bitten the dog. Poor Daisy. She already has to deal with him grabbing handfuls of fur when he passes her.

Sooooo, what did you do to break the biting habit? (I DO NOT want to hear bite back. All that really does is show that you can bite if you are bigger.) To be honestly, I am so shocked that biting begins this early. He's not being malicious. As a matter of fact, you can tell that he just thinks it's plain old funny. Someone told me to pinch by the diaper line as soon as he bites. We shall see. I am going to try a couple more weeks of "NO biting!" first.

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

2009-10-30T21:08:00.005-04:00

Whew! What an October we have had! With Jude's first birthday, our trip to Wisconsin with Jeff's parents, and then having to make an unplanned trip to Chicago when my great grandmother passed away. I think we slept in our own beds a total of 14 times this month. And between that and my switching back and forth between the guest bed and my own (due to its proximity to the boy and Jeff's intermittent snoring) there have been several mornings this week where I have woken up and had no idea where I was.

So, all of that to say that I have been missing from MHR for the last few weeks. But never fear! My husband does still rock! I mean, gee, he rocks simply for turning around 4 days after a 13 hour car tirp home to drive us 11 hours back in the same direction to go to Chicago. He rocks for supporting me through my grandmother's funeral. He rocks because even though my nephew hasn't seen him in 5 years (because they just moved back to the States from a 4 year station in Japan) you can still see how said nephew adores him.

He also rocks for passing along his awesome genes to our little man. Jeff's so laid back and I see that characteristic ALL OVER Jude. Jeff smiles all the time. Jude smiles all the time. Jeff even had Jude laughing less than one minute after his HIB vaccination this morning. Of course, my son rocks because he never acts like shots even phase him. (A HUGE answer to prayer! Mama freaks out about such things.)

P.S. This is an aviation display at The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. We did NOT fly to Chicago. We both WISH we did, but it was more cost effective to drive. . .

If you want to participate in MHR, see Katy Lin's blog, The Great Adventure, to see how it started and what to do. Happy Friday:-)

If I participated in Wordless Wednesday. . .

2009-10-28T21:14:00.003-04:00

. . . which I don't, but if I did, this would totally be the picture for this week!

He just has the most perfect expression. It is so full of what is the norm for this guy. He is always either just peaceful and content, or smiley and laughing up. He makes complete strangers smile all the time. Today at lunch he waved at every single person who left the restaurant (because we were by the door so everyone had to walk by us).
Don't get me wrong. Especially as of late, he has an angry side. Most often it is related to having his diaper or his clothes changed. If it were up to him, I think he would just prefer to run around naked or wear the same clothes for 6 months at a time.
But for the most part, this is our ever happy boy. Makes me fearful to have another kid. How could any baby be as easy as this one?!

OLD!

2009-10-24T21:44:00.001-04:00

Wow! My "cousin" posted this picture on Facebook today. (O.k. My cousin's ex-husband, but he was my dad's BFF when they were young, so I still think of him as my cousin.)

First, did you know that it was so easy to steal other people's photos off of FB?

Second, my dad is wearing overalls. White overalls. Niiiiice.

Third, my mom has a 70s perm. Um, probably because it was the 70s.

And fourth, I think that my two cousins that are in this photo are not old enough to be drinking here. But maybe the laws were different in the 70s.

Gotta love vintage.